Mayor and City Council

The City Council is comprised of five members, elected at large to four-year terms. Council members are charged with representing the public and governing according to the City's Charter. This includes enacting ordinances, establishing policies, and maintaining intergovernmental relations. The Council also oversees the affairs of the City's Redevelopment Agency, as well as its Financing, Housing, and Parking authorities.

Members of the public are welcome at all City Council meetings. Regular council meetings are held the second and fourth Thursdays of every month. Meetings convene in the Council Chamber at City Hall beginning at 3 p.m. for closed session and at 4 p.m. for regular session and public hearings.

For information about assistive listening devices or other disability-related accommodations for council meetings, please contact the City Clerk's Office. Requests should be made at least 48 hours in advance by calling (760) 346-0611 or in writing to the attention of the City Clerk, City of Palm Desert, 73-510 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92260-2578. (view upcoming meetings).

Residents and others who would like to watch Palm Desert City Council meetings in the comfort of their home or at other remote locations have two convenient ways to do so. Online viewers can watch live, streaming Internet broadcasts of City Council meetings on the Council Meeting Information Center page here on the City’s website beginning at 4 p.m. on City Council meeting days, typically the second and fourth Thursday of each month.

Television viewers can see tape-delayed broadcasts of Council meetings one week later, on the following Thursday, at 6 p.m. and again on the following Tuesday at 6 p.m. on Time Warner on Channel 17. Viewers are encouraged to check with Time Warner Cable for additional airdates and times.

An added feature of watching the meetings online is new software that gives viewers access to an archived library of public meeting videos. Staff reports and other supporting documents for each agenda item are available during live streaming and for archived meetings on the Council Meeting Information Center page.